{"id":2154,"date":"2026-06-30T14:34:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2154"},"modified":"2026-06-30T14:34:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:34:24","slug":"denver-city-council-approves-municipal-sentencing-reforms-going-beyond-state-supreme-court-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2154","title":{"rendered":"Denver City Council approves municipal sentencing reforms, going beyond state Supreme Court ruling"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Denver City Council on Monday approved a bill to update the city\u2019s municipal sentencing requirements and to bring them in line with a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that prohibits cities from having harsher penalties than the state does for the same crimes.<\/p>\n

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The ordinance, approved in a 9-4 vote, goes beyond that ruling by also changing the sentencing scheme for municipal-only offenses. Those sentences could change even more after the bill also formed a working group to make recommendations for how those crimes should be penalized in the future.<\/p>\n

The bill has seen more than a dozen iterations as the sponsors \u2014 Councilwomen Shontel Lewis, Sarah Parady and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez \u2014 reached compromises with several groups that initially opposed their proposal.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur intent has been shown to be collaborative, pragmatic and common sense. \u2026 As we met with stakeholders we worked to understand their position and when they asked us to compromise, we did,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n

The ordinance comes six months after the Colorado Supreme Court\u2019s ruling that prohibits cities from handing down sentences that are harsher than the state\u2019s penalties for the same offense. It goes beyond what the ruling mandates by also changing the sentences for low-level, municipal-only crimes in an effort to decriminalize what the sponsors have called \u201ccrimes of poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ordinance reduces the maximum penalty for municipal-only crimes that don\u2019t have a counterpart in state law to 10 days in jail and a fine of $300, down from the 300 days in jail or $999 fine that are the current maximums for most municipal crimes. Municipal-only crimes that don\u2019t have a counterpart in state law include the failure to leash a dog, violating curfew, smoking indoors, disturbances of the peace and littering.<\/p>\n

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Mayor Mike Johnston, who once opposed the bill, ultimately supported it after working with the sponsors on keeping some of the most serious municipal-only crimes at a higher sentence. That includes crimes like threats to property, flourishing a weapon, indecent exposure and wrongs to minors.<\/p>\n

The new municipal sentencing scheme break down offenses into five categories:<\/p>\n

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